January 18, 2013
By Rick Ryals
Make versatile bottom rigs with a single piece of monofilament leader.
Hook has been tied to a dropper formed in the main stem of the leader.
Give me a spool of 60-pound-test mono, some bank sinkers, a few barrel swivels and a box of circle hooks and I'll soon have enough triggerfish and seabass coming over the rail to feed a high school football team. For catching numbers of these fish and other ocean panfish, nothing beats a dropper rig, with the sinker at the bottom and baits spaced evenly on the leader above.
One of my latest rigging methods I borrowed from Florida Sportsman Expo seminar speaker Larry Finch. An expert surf fisherman, Larry built a rigging board that can spit out a double-hook pompano rig in under 60 seconds. I got him to build me an offshore version. The finished rigs are economical and sneaky—no 3-way swivels or heavy line to alert my quarry that something's up. You might recognize the knot as a dropper loop knot.
How many hooks you put on a leader is up to you. I've made rigs with as many as five hooks, but generally two or three are more than enough to get the job done.
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Final Steps: Place newly formed loop over hook at opposite end of board from spool and repeat steps 1-6 for as many hooks as desired. Cut at least 16 inches off after last loop, and tie overhand loop knot for sinker. Thread loop through the eye of strong 6/0 circle hook, such as the Eagle Claw L2004f, or for longer leaders cut one end and tie the hook on. FS
First Published Florida Sportsman Sep. 2012
